creative writing

It’s been a while since I last uploaded a post onto the blog but… I really need all of your help! My novel is so close to reaching 500 reads online which is super exciting and would be an incredible achievement if we reached that number. It is free to read online and best part, you DON’T NEED AN ACCOUNT ON TABLO! That means that anyone, anywhere can basically access my novel for reading and… it remembers where you last left off.

This is a YA Contemporary novel written in the form of letters. The main character is bisexual and the storyline does discuss mental health, love and sexuality. My aim for Letters To Myself was to write a story that basically represents me in a nutshell. So far, I have received some feedback from a few readers but would honestly love to see some new faces pop on over and try a sample of my writing!

Here is the link to my novel: https://tablo.io/alice-mtb44/dear-myself If you have Twitter or a blog yourself, it would also be great if you could spread the word so that your followers are informed of something new to read. This is a complete, 57,000 word standalone and should take a few hours to read.

Thanks so much for all of the support shown so far, I do have plans to participate in April Camp Nanowrimo 2018 but more details will be released on my chosen project closer to the time.

Alice x

PS: The cover does need to be changed since the tagline is a bit incorrect, if anyone has any suggestions for cover designs or would like to make one, let me know in the comments below!

Advertisements

Share this:

Like this:

Do you ever get that sensation deep inside where your mind feels so clogged up with all of these unwanted thoughts, therefore causing a negative impact on your emotions? I felt like that today, the strongest in a long time. And to cope with that, I sat back and wrote this song that I’m going to be sharing in my blog post today. I don’t often share my songwriting online because I’m scared of plagiarism or some troll coming along and writing a mean comment on my profile. But, from what I’ve experienced recently, I just felt compelled to write and share this.

The song’s story is about a friendship suddenly ending for no particular reason. As a person, you don’t know why someone you called a close friend suddenly decides that they’ve had enough of supporting you. Automatically, you question yourself and wonder if the person you are had something to do with this or maybe another reason that remains unknown. In my case, I really don’t know why. It hurts because I want to know why but at the same time, I don’t want to know why. The song is quite deep however for personal reasons, I won’t be making references in close detail to the ones involved. I do see this move as a breakthrough songwriting moment though as I haven’t personally written any songs since the start of January.

This one is titled “Another Face”. If you do have any feedback that you would like to share, please feel free to in the comments section below. Hope my writing is something that you enjoy and are interested in reading further.

Another Face

Memories of us so close, we planned to look back on

Toast to the summer nights as we talked

Had never felt so bold

Both of us lived two very separate lives

Something we didn’t seem to hide

Advice swapped back and forth

Moving forward, leaving all of the anguish behind

As the day turned slowly to night

Times I physically felt you close by my side

Distance was never the problem

Today, I dwell on the heartaches

That came with what looked to be a mistake

Now, I know, that things won’t ever be OK

As I’m just another face

You used to know and appreciate

Cry to myself as we walk out each day

Across the city walkways

Following what I sense deep in my soul

Now stands so cold, far away from bright gold

Once we laughed, just us

I’ll remember

You and me together

In warmth and comfort

Close friendship is all we ever need

Till the joy starts to bleed

Today, I dwell on the heartaches

That came with what looked to be a mistake

Now, I know, that things won’t ever be OK

As I’m just another face

You used to know and appreciate

That concludes this post, thanks for reading.

Alice.

Share this:

Like this:

Hello!…. The wind chill here is -15*C, my campus is shut today due to the severe weather warnings and I’m drinking so much hot chocolate and fruit tea, it’s crazy. Today’s post is a bit of a celebration one since I reached two very epic (in my view) milestones this week. One to do with this blog, the other my personal writing. So, I’m super excited to share all of the exciting details with you all that read my posts. The first big milestone was… I finished writing my novel! It was an emotional experience, sitting at the computer and writing the last few chapters in just a couple of hours and realising that I was saying goodbye to all of the characters that I had grown close to over the months that were spent planning the plotline. I was crying as I typed my closing note but deep down inside, I felt both excited and relieved that the longest project to date had finally been completed.

This particular novel will remain a standalone however, I’m already hard at work planning my next projects that will be uploaded to Tablo. Tablo is a free writing website (If you know Wattpad then this is just like it except no spammers and great layout/formatting) where you can upload stories and poetry to get feedback. The website is also unique because you don’t actually need an account to read someone’s story and the reads still get counted which are displayed on a writer’s profile. Posting my novel online has been a fantastic experience and connecting with readers, the best kind of encouragement for any nervous writer who dreams of one day becoming published. My novel length is just 57,000 words long and is a proud Nanowrimo 2017 winning novel after I successfully wrote 50K words during the worldwide writing event in November 2017. Here is a picture of my novel cover as well as some relevant tweets to my writing:

I made the cover myself using Canva, which helps me strike up some creative and visual inspiration for planning my various novellas and books of poetry. I plan to change this cover at some point but I thought that the rows of letterboxes looked interesting and since my novel is told in epistolary (basically written in letters style), then it had to feature something similar to that on my cover. The novel follows a young girl called Morwenna who gets a diary as a Christmas present from her Dad. She writes a letter in it around once a week and documents her experiences as well as personal thoughts that she has. She also loves to write and actively participates in Camp Nanowrimo and the main Nanowrimo events. The story also discusses sexuality, bullying, falling in love and some elements of paranormal with ghosts and abandoned buildings ooooooooh. This is suitable I say for readers over 15+ and is available to read online in full for free: https://tablo.io/alice-mtb44/dear-myself

It would be awesome if we could reach 50 followers on my Tablo profile, I recently reached 25 followers and am an active user there, chatting to other users. I plan to post lots more very soon and is the quickest way to stay updated with what is being released. Just click on the above link to be directed to my novel and also, where you can click on my profile picture to view my profile. If you would like to leave feedback, you need an account which is quick and easy to set-up. Any questions, feel free to ask me.

My tweet from this past week celebrating the end of my novel, full word count and how long Tablo estimated it would take for someone to read my writing (which me reading back my own writing will be quicker than that) 😛

The second milestone happened today… There are now 250 of you subscribed to my blog! A lovely little surprise to see when I logged on this morning to check my messages. After creating this blog over two years ago, I was so worried when promoting my new posts just wasn’t attracting anyone. I’ve wanted to quit so many times, it’s crazy but… 250 is a pretty awesome accomplishment and now, hoping for 300 by my birthday in the summer! I have some giveaways planned to celebrate within the coming weeks so make sure you stay tuned for that.

Speaking of giveaways, I have one running at the moment in celebration of World Book Day 2018. Here is the official tweet announcing the giveaway but I would love some help in trying to spread the word about it. This is only the second time that I have ever created a giveaway and seeing new entries and meeting others on Twitter for the first time is super cool!

That concludes this long, chatty post from me in the middle of a freak snowstorm but, a big thank you to all of you that support me and continue to show your love across everything I do in the bookish/mental health/writing/blogging communities. I am looking forward to seeing what happens next for my blog and personal writing. See you all soon with a new upload and stay safe if you are caught up in Storm Emma!

Alice x

Share this:

Like this:

Hello readers! Today’s upload is going to be a quick post on common tips that I’ve learnt as a writer across the years that I’ve been writing stories and poetry alone. Some of them I have learnt from others on the internet and others from those in real-life that I’ve met at book events such as signings in a local bookstore. I am going to share a few here that helped me and hopefully, they will help you too. Let’s go!

Tip #1- Allow your first drafts to be crap

This was such a struggle at first, having such a perfectionist kind of attitude towards my personal writing and schoolwork. But I realised after quite a long while that getting worked up during the first few paragraphs of a new story isn’t going to be helpful. In November’s Nanowrimo, I just let myself go. If I ever felt stuck, one of the qualities of my main character was that she loved to write just as much as I do. So, I would include some creative writing that I came up with on the spot and just in-cooperated it into her story.

Tip #2- Show, don’t tell

Info dumping can be one of the most annoying habits to fall into and at first, I had the urge to just constantly write about everything, everyone, that had to stop. Readers weren’t reading past the first page because of it. So now, I only write what is essential to the setting and to creating characters, releasing details throughout the story and not all at the start.

Tip #3- Use real-life to guide you

Some of my previous novels/novellas have been inspired by true events from my past such as my best friend passing away from cancer or having a horrific nightmare one night that never left my side for weeks. But I found that by looking back into my past, I could list all of the details from it down and use it in the present. It made the backstories of characters interesting and even in one of my works, added a paranormal atmosphere to my writing.

Tip #4- Forcing doesn’t work

I personally just let the desire to write come to me, putting on the opposite motion (force) actually causes myself to dislike my writing altogether, even if readers online have read and enjoyed it. We all lead busy, active lives and sometimes, that can get in the way of trying to get chapters together. But remembering that other commitments come first means that allowing your personal writing to take a backseat for a while is fine.

Those are the tips that I wanted to share with you all, hope you enjoyed reading this post and see you soon for more writing content!

Alice x

Share this:

Like this:

Hello all! Time for a blog post about none other than my creative writing and how my current works are going. So, I joined Tablo Publishing two months ago and in that short amount of time, I’ve uploaded and written short stories, poetry and my ongoing YA novel that I started for Nanowrimo. Because there has been some interest surrounding my writing, I decided to make this post and hopefully answer the questions that you may have that you wanted to ask me.

Q1- Why post works online?

For the very basic reason that I just couldn’t keep my writing to myself XD but on a more serious note, I wanted to see what total strangers thought of my writing and the quickest and cheapest way to do that was to start posting online.

Q2- Have you seen a strong interest in your works?

There have been some Twitter followers interested and the beauty of being on Tablo is that you don’t need an account if you actually just want to read my works. You only need one if you would like to leave a comment on any of the chapters or follow me to be notified of new updates.

Q3- How have your family/friends reacted to your online works?

I don’t really show all of my writing to them but the parts that both my Mum and boyfriend have read, they have enjoyed but obviously their feedback will be a bit biased since they’re my loved ones and even though it’s scary to ask for constructive criticism, you kind of need that as a writer.

Q4- What are your current stats?

Across all of my online and publicly posted works on Tablo, I have 406 reads and a total of 18 followers. The most buzz has been on my Nanowrimo novel Letters To Myself which has 266 reads and 17 favourites, which shows that lots of readers have been giving my writing a try.

Q5- Do you have further plans to continue posting writing online?

I do have lots of stories and poems that I would most definitely like to bring to life to an online audience. It will take time and patience in order to succeed but due to the stats I mentioned in Q4, I think my current method is the right way to go about promoting my works to others.

Q6- What has it been like posting your Nanowrimo novel?

Terrifying, I won’t lie about that but what I will say is the best way to get over that fear is just to keep writing and posting, not suddenly stop. I know unexpected things get in the way of life but keep your readers posted and uploads regular.

Q7- Have you finished your novel yet?

Not at the moment but I hope to by the end of January 2018 to kick off the writing year on a roll with a finished novel and exciting plans to develop and promote further with new storylines and characters.

Final question, where can we support you and your writing?

You can follow my online writing here on Tablo Publishing, it’s free to join and there’s no pressure to post anything if you don’t want to: https://tablo.io/alice-mtb44

Share this:

Like this:

I’ve been busy writing and uploading more of my Nanowrimo chapters to Tablo Publishing, a free online writing website I discovered last month after their Twitter account followed mine. It seemed like a great place to upload my stories and poetry too. Mainly, very quiet in regards to number of users online but the interface and actual genres available to write under are great. A few minutes ago, I noticed this on my Tablo profile.

So, to break things down for you!

I currently have 7 followers which is good however, I have been actively promoting around on social media my profiles but very few have seemed to take a genuine interest into following it. Maybe because it’s not Wattpad (I do have one but hardly ever use it) or because they are worried that making an account costs, it doesn’t, it’s completely free and you don’t have to upload anything, just reading and reviewing writing is totally fine.

I have 221 reads across my 4 published works on my profile, they are 2 completed short stories, a book of poetry and my Nanowrimo novel.

As of right now, the total number of words I’ve uploaded to Tablo is in excess of 37,700 words and is set to grow quickly.

So readers! It would mean a lot to me if you could stop by on my Tablo profile and follow, doing this means you are supporting my writing projects and joining me in my adventure to become a published author and a successful online writer.

Share this:

Like this:

For the next 24 days (including today’s post), I will be uploading a post to my blog each evening around 8PM GMT (3PM East Coast time, 7AM Melbourne/Sydney time) either on the themes of books, creative writing, mental health and tea. I’ve never done Blogmas before so I’m really excited to bring something new to my blog and hopefully, connect with other bloggers in the process. To kickstart the whole adventure, I’m blogging about the fact that on my eighth attempt at a Nanowrimo event, I finally won! But it was a close one, so let’s discuss.

In total during the month of November, I wrote 50,320 words which is the most I’ve ever written in a single month and the longest writing project that’s ever been brought to life. The number of times a novel has tried to be completed is in the hundreds. Letters To Myself which was my main project name is currently unfinished BUT will aim to be completely finished by Monday of next week since I’m only a few chapters away. It’s been a wild ride, definitely learning that not writing for a few days in a row can actually hinder your motivation a lot. Time management was a huge key to being a participant this year since I did (and still do) have assignments out which take a while to finish.

Even though I did have a chapter breakdown and additional notes on the characters throughout, my general mood and tone changed a lot during the mid-way point of Nanowrimo. A once silly and planned lighthearted read actually turned into a deeper and tough read, without wanting to give too much away, Morwenna (main character) goes through a sudden life change that sparks a new chapter in her world. The chapters that I have posted online to Tablo so far seemed to be easy to read and attracting a nice little audience. Winning the 50K challenge has shown to me for sure that once you put your mind to it, things can be accomplished. Next goal is to keep on writing and having a creative time with my characters!

Did you participate in this year’s event? Are you a winner? If so, comment down below and share your experiences!

BONUS! It would mean a lot to me if you could follow my social medias. Super close to 1,000 followers on Twitter! Don’t forget to subscribe and ask your friends to check out my posts too! 😀